The Last 30 Memories
by AvengeHer12
Summary: Hyuga, Hinata is sad when her husband, Uzumaki, Naruto, is away before their 15th anniversary. With help from her sensei Sarutobi, Kurenai, she is able to relive their love story and rekindles hope. This is an unofficial novelization of "Naruto: The Last Movie." The author does not claim rights to the Naruto franchise; ongoing.
1. Student and Sensei

The Last 30 Memories

Student and Sensei-Prologue

Over 14 years had passed since Hyuga, Hinata of the Hyuga clan and Uzumaki, Naruto of the Uzumaki clan had united in matrimony.  
Hinata couldn't believe it had been so long and how much it took to be where she was at, lying comfortably against her couch. It was also amazing that their 15th anniversary was tomorrow. She did have to pay a small price for it, since Naruto had been deemed the Hidden Leaf Village's Hokage, which made him frequently absent due to his duties performed outside the village.

Naruto left on a diplomatic mission to the Hidden Mist Village a few days prior. The Hidden Mist Village was peaceful to the Hidden Leaf Village, but it didn't mean they were allies or willing to comply with agreements between them. He told Hinata it would only take a few days to complete, but she braced herself for delays.  
Before he left, Naruto sent fresh lilacs to her from their friend Yamanaka, Ino's flower shop called Yamanaka Flowers. They stood in a clear vase facing the sun setting window.

Sometimes it was nice to have both her son, Boruto, and daughter, Himawari, grow old enough to enroll in the Hidden Leaf Ninja Academy, but she still missed having another busybody in the house. Having the house to herself was tranquil. She was glad that the Hidden Leaf Village also was peaceful, something that she appreciated Naruto and Hatake, Kakashi created in the Hidden Leaf Village. It would make their ancestors proud that they finally established peace in the land in the short amounts of time they were appointed Hokage.

Hinata was surprised when her former sensei, Sarutobi, Kurenai, knocked on her door. "Hinata-chan, it's me," a voice chimed. Hinata could already see her sensei at the door with her Byakugan ability. She smiled as it relaxed and she opened the door. "Good evening Kurenai-sensei, it's been a while. Come on in." Hinata opened the door and invited Kurenai to sit next to her on the couch.

"First of all, happy upcoming anniversary to my darling, little student!" Kurenai exclaimed and hugged Hinata. Hinata blushed slightly but accepted it. She wondered what Kurenai had in mind. "I brought you some chocolates for the occasion," Kurenai mentioned as she took out a wrapped present. The square present had white wrapping paper covering it with a silk, red bow knotted on the center. Hinata pulled the end off the ribbon and the bow shrunk as she did. She opened the box by flipping it and peeling the sides that had been taped, so the precious wrapping paper wouldn't be ripped. "Oh Hinata-chan, always too kind for the occasion," Kurenai thought.

Hinata flipped over the box again to see a delightful picture of chocolates on the cover. Hinata thought it very sweet of her sensei to give this to her. "Th-thank you, sensei," Hinata remarked as she accepted it. She wiggled the box cover as it came off and picked a square chocolate piece with some white frosting lines.

It was a piece of dark chocolate with a raspberry filling in the center. The filling mingled with the chocolate melting warmly in her mouth, like Naruto just kissed her. "These can be the chocolates Naruto-kun could've given you," Kurenai suggested. Hinata had memories of making chocolates every year for Valentine's Day in her head that always made Naruto craving more. The memory of when Naruto attempted to make his first chocolates on their first White Day together made her smile, but he decided it was easier to either buy them or give something else from years forward.

"You've been lonely, haven't you?" she noticed. Hinata tightened her lips and looked away towards the lilacs, but she couldn't deny it. "Well, I guess so, but I can't help it if Naruto-kun's saving the outer world- I'm saving his inner world," Hinata justified. Boruto and Himawari were their prized treasures. "Well, I have something I've been preparing for some time and I think you'll like it," Kurenai smiled. "Come here," she requested.

Hinata scooted closer. "Okay, I'm going to do a genjutsu of memories of how you and Naruto fell in love," she explained. Hinata's eyebrows shot up and so did her blushing. "But sensei, y-you don't need to do that," she protested. "Well, as your sensei and the first to notice this, mind you, I believe I can at least give you some peace of mind," Kurenai proclaimed with a proud streak. "Plus, I do this sometimes when I miss Asuma-kun," she confessed. "But wait- something neat I've experimented and perfected on is I've noticed that when I connect genjutsus like this, if one has a strong chakra bond with someone, like Asuma-kun and me for example, I can even peer into the other's memories through you as well," she brightened. "Wow? I didn't know you could do that," Hinata speculated. "So, that means I can have your genjutsu to include some of Naruto's memories, since both of you have special _connections_ ," Kurenai ended on a sing-song note. Oh goodness, Hinata was not having it today. She nervously laughed at her sensei's words.

"Well, okay. If it pleases you," Hinata complied. "All right, just relax," Kurenai assured and she placed her fingers on Hinata's forehead.


	2. The Red Scarf of Fate

The Red Scarf of Fate-Memory 1

I first met Naruto-kun when we were about three years old. It was on a winter morning that I was walking alone in the forest past the Leaf Academy when suddenly, three big boys came to me and made fun of my eyes. They got pretty nasty with their words. "Hey, you! Who are you and what are you doing here?" "Your eyes are creepy!" "I bet you're actually a monster!" "Yeah, you Byakugan monster!" They laughed as I cried in front of them. I always liked my Byakugan, so it didn't make sense why they were making fun of it.

We didn't notice that there also was another person watching this happen. It was a blonde, little boy with a red scarf who was on the swing in front of the Leaf Academy. He suddenly ran up to us and yelled, "Hey! Stop!"

They turned away from me to face that boy. "Huh, who are you?" one of them asked. "I'm Uzumaki, Naruto. I'm gonna become the future Hokage," he proclaimed. "Future Hokage? Are you serious about that?" they sneered. "Okay, I'm gonna show it to you!" Naruto-kun exclaimed. "Shadow clone jutsu!" Two puffs of smoke appeared, but only two miniature clones came. "I'm going to beat you!" the first one squeaked. "Me too!" the other shrieked. The other boys laughed at his attempt and Naruto-kun was dumbfounded. "You fool!" one shouted and punched him. "Now, let's make some fun!" he schemed.

They took his scarf and stretched it out between them. "Hahaha, future Hokage, whatever." "Let's get rid of the scarf." They climbed on a tree and were swinging from a branch with the scarf. Then they came down and stomped on it. When they were finally satisfied with the damage they did, they left us.

Naruto-kun eventually woke up and hollered, "I'm not done yet! This time, I'm going to make a strong clone for sure," but was surprised to see that the boys already left and saw me next to him. He squatted down and I asked, "Are you ok?" His face was swollen and his nose was bleeding. "But I'm gonna beat them up," he resigned. "Use this, it'll warm you up," I recommended and offered his now-ruined scarf. He shrugged it off by waving his hand away. "I'm sorry," I apologized. "Don't worry about it," he retorted and stood up. He skipped along and I cried, "Uh, hey." Naruto-kun stopped. "Th-thank you very much," I bowed to him. "You're welcome," he waved and ran off towards the path. I smiled at his kindness and hugged the red scarf tightly. And that was the first time I met Naruto-kun.

And from that first encounter, the red thread of fate, in the form of a scarf, intertwined the destinies of Uzumaki, Naruto and Hyuga, Hinata.


	3. Moon Collision

Moon Collision-Memory 2

After walking home from the bullies and Naruto-kun, I couldn't stop thinking about him and his bright smile stuck with me. I went to town as normal, but kept replaying that moment in my head. I wondered about what I could have done and if things would have been different then. I thought about asking To-san about this, but I got worried and decided not to. Frankly, it kind of scared me to think about it. He was pretty stern then. Another significant moment happened some time after I started school at the Leaf Academy.

When it did start, I was glad that Naruto-kun was in the same class as me. The sensei, Umino, Iruka, didn't have him sit next to me, but I was okay with that. Naruto-kun wanted to sit with Sakura-chan and Sasuke. I was just happy that I could see him from my desk, since I sat on a row behind him.

Several months later, it was another hot, summer day when Iruka-sensei was giving out an assignment. "If the world were to end tomorrow, who is the last person that you want to be with?" Iruka-sensei proposed. "Things like that will never happen," Naruto-kun proudly believed with his hands behind his head. "Maybe like, the moon will fall," Iruka-sensei encouraged. "If things like that could happen, I would rather hope meat will fall instead of the moon," Choji announced and the whole class erupted in laughter. Even then, he was a hungry boy.

"If the world came to an end, I will be there with you," Naruto-kun cited to Sakura-chan, who stuck her nose up at him. "Don't worry about it. I've decided to spend the last day with someone I love," she stated and blushed at a sleeping Sasuke.

"Write down the name of the person that you want to spend the last day of the world together with," Iruka-sensei reminded everyone. Then he gave us some time for us to think about our answers. I wasn't sure of whose name I'd write (since I was having issues with To-san then) and I rolled my pencil a few times. I stopped when I saw a paper airplane fly past me. It went out the window and past a tree, it was so sunny outside. I wished I could fly free like the paper airplane, someday. I looked to the right to see Iruka-sensei walking towards the culprit.

"Hey, Naruto! Don't throw out your paper," he scolded. "But it's unlikely that the world will come to an end," Naruto-kun protested. "I'm just saying 'if' it does," Iruka-sensei emphasized. "Well, it ain't gonna happen," Naruto-kun shrugged, still unfazed.

It was silly, but I was glad he didn't think the world was going to end. It was then I had my answer-I wanted to be with Naruto-kun at the end of the world.


	4. Courage and Confidence

Courage and Confidence-Memory 3

12 years had passed... It was two years after The Fourth Great Shinobi War concluded and I was 18. All the nations wanted to stop fighting after they united to take down Uchiha, Madara. There was peace once again. At this time, I was thinking about what I'd do for the Rinne festival that would be coming soon. I had confessed my feelings for Naruto-kun before, during Pain's Invasion, but he most likely forgot. Sakura-chan later told me he lost control of his Nine-Tails chakra after Pain knocked me out, he unleashed six tails then! By four tails, he'd lose control of his conscious. I was able to understand him better, so I believed in him forgetting. That was when I decided I'll confess again in a more formal manner.

I went on to think about how I would tell him this, and decided that a gift would be good to bring. I remembered when we first met and he made me keep his scarf. I thought that it would be meaningful if I knitted a new scarf to represent that first time, let him keep that one, and tell him my true feelings-it'd be foolproof. I got excited about my plan and bought some red yarn to start on my "project."  
Okaa-san taught me a little about knitting before she passed away, so I used what I remembered to start. Hours passed into nighttime, but I kept knitting because I was so excited about finishing. When my fingers got tired, I would look at the first scarf, remember little Naruto-kun's face, and it motivated me to keep going.

Eventually, I did run out of yarn, so I went out to get some more. It turned out to be good timing, since the fabric store had some discounts for the Rinne festival. After I bought more yarn and walked out, Sakura-chan called out for me. "Oh, Sakura-chan," I greeted. "Hmm? Knitting something?" she assumed as she checked the outside of the store. "That's a surprise," she smiled. "I'm making a scarf," I explained and looked down. "Hmm," Sakura-chan hummed as a mischievous grin turned up and she pressed her fingers to her chin in a V-shape. "W-what is it?" I conjured as she leaned in to examine my face.  
"Give it your all, ok?" she cheered as she smiled, threw her hands up, and slapped them onto my shoulders. "Huh?" "It's a present for him, right?" she concluded. She was right. I couldn't give her an answer and just stared at the ground (Oh, I got so red then!). Then she took me to a dessert stop and we talked some more.

"He's been popular, lately," Sakura-chan bluntly stated. "Oh, really?" I didn't notice, I was too busy making that scarf for him. "They even come all the way from other villages, just to take pictures of him," she mentioned. "Oh," I acknowledged. They came from everywhere just to see him? "Don't say 'oh.' Hurry up and finish that scarf," Sakura-chan commanded. "Okay," I nodded. "Come on, have some confidence. Be bold," she encouraged. "O-okay," I repeated. We continued to chat about other things and eventually went home. It started to snow after I left the dessert shop and I was glad that I could stay inside my house. I thought about our conversation while I was knitting Naruto-kun's scarf.


	5. Failed Attempt

Failed Attempt-Memory 4

"All done," I breathed. The scarf was finally done! I quickly placed it in a blue bag, added a sticker on a ribbon, and I ran down the stairs. "I put my whole heart and soul into it. I'm sure my feelings will reach Naruto," I excitedly thought. I paced past the hall next to the courtyard, but stopped. "But will they? It's already late, maybe tomorrow's better," I doubted as I walked back. "Nope, I'm going to give it to him tonight," I paced back. "Maybe tomorrow," I hesitated. "No, tonight," I returned. "No, tomorrow's-" "Just hurry up and tell him how you feel," a voice taunted. I know that voice, all too well.

"Hanabi, why didn't you say you were there?" I demanded. "Watching a girl agonizing over love is fun," she teased. She was standing on the stone fountain in the courtyard, but jumped towards me. "That's no way for a child to talk," I chided. "I'm not a child. My Byakugan's perception is as good as any grownup," she proudly pointed out on her eyes. "Anyway, look. Isn't it cute?" she asked about her kunai with a pink, ninja key chain hanging from it. "You're treating your kunai like a toy again," I denounced. It was short-lived, as my stomach let out a growl. Skipping dinner was a bad idea! "He'll burst out laughing, if your tummy growls while confessing your love," she jeered. "I'm not going to confess anything," I denied, but looked away and left. "Rather than giving him a scarf, maybe you should make yourself more fashionable," she waved. Hanabi had some nerve, speaking like that. If I knew that was the last time I'd see her in a few days, I would have been kinder.

I went to Naruto-kun's house and knocked on his door. Nobody answered. After a few minutes, I thought about where he would be at and I remembered that his favorite place to go was at Ramen Ichiraku, so I walked over there.  
By the time I arrived, I did see him there, along with Sakura-chan, Ino-chan, Shikamaru, and Choji. Ino-chan noticed me first. "Oh, Hinata. Join us if you haven't eaten," she addressed. "It's on me tonight," Naruto-kun agreed. "He said something made him happy and he wants to celebrate," she clarified. "B-but," I hesitated. How will I be able to talk to him? "Don't be shy, come and sit here," Sakura-chan encouraged and offered her seat. It was nice that her seat was next to Naruto-kun. "Join us, Hinata," Naruto-kun smiled. Since he offered, I'll come. "O-okay," I consented. I was excited that Sakura-chan was letting me sit next to Naruto-kun.

As I walked, some of Naruto-kun's admirers ran up to him. "Naruto-senpai!" "Hey, it's you guys. Thanks for the presents the other day," he remembered. Sakura-chan was right, lots of girls already have done their part to get his attention. Even then, I sat down with Sakura-chan. "Order whatever you want, it's my treat. It's my thanks for the presents," he stood up and they sat on a table next to the bar. "Thank you so much!" they exclaimed in unison. "Hinata, order what you want, too," he reminded. Before he walked back to his seat, a girl grabbed his arm and bidded, "Over here, senpai." "Huh?" he blurted. "Let's eat together," another girl added and they tried to make him sit between them.

I took a seat, but I couldn't help but to feel jealous that those girls already gave gifts to Naruto-kun and he liked them. I'd rather confess to him when there were less people around, so I left my seat. "Hinata, what's wrong?" Sakura-chan noticed and got off her seat. "I'm sorry. Actually, I'm quite full," I lied. "Huh?" Naruto-kun asked. "Hinata," Sakura-chan called. I started to walk away. "Why don't you walk her home?" she motioned to Naruto-kun. "Walk Hinata home? Why?" he echoed. I stopped my tracks to listen to his response. This would be the perfect chance to give his scarf! "Well, you can't let a young girl walk alone at night," she described. I suppose that was a good point. "Huh, Hinata's really strong. No one in this village would dare mess with her," he rationalized. I should have been flattered, but that didn't work. "Hinata! Oh, you're such an idiot," Sakura-chan rebuked to him. She left to join me, but he stayed behind asking, "Why'd you call me an idiot?"

We walked past a lamp post that had a Naruto-looking snowman I made. Sakura-chan complained, "He can be so dense. You were going to give him that scarf, right?" I nodded. "You can do it, Hinata. Be confident." "Thanks. But why are you encouraging me so much?" I implored. "Huh, well..." She had a long look on her face and her eyes shifted to the ground. I haven't seen her look so forlorn before. She quickly snapped a smile and responded, "We need to support each other." "Support each other?" I inquired. She nodded.

We made it to my house and Sakura-chan left. I was about to go inside, but with her advice in my head, I decided to go back to Naruto-kun's apartment. I was about to go up the stairs to his number, but I thought I should practice how I was going to confess to him. I went back down and practiced next to a lamp post. "Naruto-kun, I've always gazed at your back. But from now on, I want to always stand by your side, so I knitted this with all my heart. Please accept my feelings," I recited out loud. "All right, one more time. Naruto-kun-" I felt a presence behind me. "Hinata," his actual voice said. What? I gasped and nearly had a heart attack.

I slowly turned around; yes, it really was him. "Good evening," I addressed. I can't believe it's him. "We just saw each other at Ichiraku's," he pointed out. "Oh, that's right," I recovered. I quickly lost composure when I saw a green scarf with white stripes already worn on his neck. "What's the matter?" he asked. Oh dear, I was too late, way too late. "Th-that's a nice scarf," I complimented. "Oh yeah," he thanked and he stroked it tenderly. Who gave him such a gift that he would regard like that?

Then my stomach shrieked. Oh no, this was so embarrassing, just like what Hanabi said! "Hey, sounds like you're hungry. If you don't mind instant ramen, I have some in my room," Naruto-kun proposed. At that point, I couldn't take it anymore. "Good night!" I shouted and ran off. "Didn't you want to talk to me? Hey, Hinata!" he called to me, but I ignored him.

I ran to a playground and sat on a swing. I took out the scarf, laid it on my lap, and I couldn't stop staring at it. Who was that girl who gave Naruto-kun the other scarf? "I wonder who gave it to him. I'm happy for you, Naruto-kun." I should be happy... so why was I crying?


	6. Man in White

Man in White-Memory 5

A few tears splashed onto the scarf, but I didn't care. There was no point, I was too late. "Why are you crying?" A man's voice asked. "You're getting the scarf wet." It surprised me, but I ignored my fear and went along with his words. "I don't need it anymore," I replied. "Then I'll take it," he suggested and walked closer to me. I looked up and saw a shadowed figure walk towards me. "Who are you?" I inquired. "I'm Toneri, I've come for you," he introduced as he stepped into the light.

Toneri had white hair, pale skin, a white robe that was low cut, a golden cloth tied to his right shoulder, and tomoe tattoos below his collarbone. Interestingly enough, he didn't open his eyes. How would he know who I am?

"Come for me?" I echoed. I had a bad feeling about him. I was right.

I thought I saw Naruto-kun on the corner of my eye, so I checked that way to confirm. Another shady man grabbed me from behind and crushed me against him, I let out a shout. Naruto-kun happened to hear me and he ran toward us. "What, let me go!" I told Toneri. He made a green jutsu orb and when I looked at it, I lost consciousness.

I woke up to the other man still grabbing me while running on the rooftops (at least I still had my scarf), and I heard Naruto-kun call my name. Some other minions were trying to block him, but he stopped them. Naruto-kun managed to catch up to us. "Why you, let Hinata go! Hold it!" he demanded, but he was faced with more minions. He eventually used his Rasen Shuriken jutsu on some of them, used it again on that man (he must have been a puppet, since only cloth got cut) above a water tower and I fell. As I was descending, the scarf unfolded and I threw it against a sharp ledge. It got torn in half when it hooked on, but it was long enough that it didn't cut completely and I was able to hang from it. That was close!

Naruto-kun looked over the edge and asked, "Hinata, are you okay?" I said yeah. A blast nearly hit him and some water splashed on me. Naruto-kun went over and fought with the puppet who threw that blast jutsu at him. As I was climbing up with the scarf, something was wrong. "My body is going numb. My strength..." The scarf fully ripped and I let go.

I got thrown around and was falling to a certain death. Just before my body smashed the ground, Naruto-kun shouted for and caught me.

He placed me on a rooftop and took a breath. "Your scarf's ruined," he remorsed. "Yes," I agreed. "Where'd those shinobi came from?" he inquired. "I don't know," I returned. I do admit it was not wise of me to continue to talk to Toneri. Speak of the devil, he suddenly appeared in front of us. "The final day is approaching. Before that-" Toneri got interrupted as Naruto-kun charged at him, but he dissipated into the air. He stood in front of the crescent moon and continued talking. "Before that day, I will come for you- Hinata," he warned and disappeared.

A bright light appeared where Toneri disappeared, but it started getting closer to us. We then realized that it was a big meteor, and it was shooting towards our direction. We had to cover our eyes as it went over the valley, over the Hokage Rock. "What is that?" Naruto-kun rhetorically asked. I also wondered what that was doing here-did Toneri send that, or was it coincidence? A huge explosion bursted from the meteor and shook the earth. "Wh-what is that?"


	7. Saving Hanabi

Saving Hanabi-Memory 6

Naruto-kun and I reported my attempted kidnapping to the Hokage Hatake, Kakashi. When we mentioned Toneri and his description, he thought about it carefully, like he heard of him before. Kakashi-sama also mentioned that Hanabi also had been kidnapped, as reported by Sai. He was glad that at least I was safe. Most likely, Toneri was connected with this.  
I regretted being mad at Hanabi, I was so snappy at her too. I needed to apologize and give her a hug when I see her. He then told us to get some rest so he could plan a mission for Hanabi's rescue. I asked him to include me in it, and he paused. To further my cause, I said that I could scout out the area with my Byakugan. He looked up and said that he will let me be included. He told us to come tomorrow morning.

For the mission, I gathered some weapons and picked some new clothes for the mission. My previous mission clothing were too loose and were making me lose speed when I was battling. I needed to wear something tighter that would help me fight better.  
Among some tops I had, I found a lavender, kimono-style blouse that was sleeveless, but covered my shoulders and neck well, a blue t-shirt that had the Hidden Leaf symbol on it, and the Jonin vest that I could wear a long sleeved shirt underneath. I figured the t-shirt to be too loose and I had harsh memories from wearing the vest, so I chose the lavender blouse. I also stumbled upon a large obi that complimented the blouse, so I picked that to wear with it. Within pants I chose, I laid out some navy short shorts and my former capris on my bed. Wearing only the shorts would expose too much, so I found some thigh-high stockings to cover my legs and picked some tall, black boots Hanabi gave to me a while ago. I guess I was taking her advice in wearing something "fashionable," now that I think about it. N-not for Naruto-kun, of course!  
I was satisfied with my new outfit and told myself I'd finish other preparations in the morning, like wrapping some bandages on my leg and attaching my Ninja pack to it.

The next day, Kakashi-sama called several shinobi to his office for a mission. Naruto-kun, Shikamaru, Sakura-chan, Sai, and I were there. He told us that our mission was to rescue Hanabi who had been kidnapped. Shikamaru was going to be the captain and lead a four-man team in this operation. He also stated that he gave me permission to be included in it, which I thanked him for. He probably did this to clear the question on why another person was added to the operation, when teams were traditionally grouped in three-man cells and a captain.  
Kakashi-sama told Shikamaru to take out his hand. "Huh? Why?" he questioned, but took out his left one. His assistant placed a jutsu on it and a time dial glowed on his palm. "What's this?" he inquired further. "A top-secret clock that only the five Kages possess," Kakashi-sama explained and showed us his own hand. "What kind of clock is it?" Naruto-kun asked. "It's counting down the time until the Earth's destruction," Kakashi-sama grimly replied. Everyone gasped.

"I don't get it. Why's this necessary for Hanabi's rescue?" Shikamaru asked. "Toneri, who kidnapped Hanabi, could be the one manipulating the moon," Kakashi-sensei stated. Did he create that meteor from last night? "What are you basing this on?" Sai inquired. "It's just a hunch," Kakashi-sama blatantly mentioned.


	8. Hidden Kunai

Hidden Kunai-Memory 7

Kakashi-sama sent us off and Sai created four ink eagles from his Ink Jutsu for us to ride on. Sai, Sakura-chan, and Shikamaru each got one, while Naruto-kun and I were assigned to the last one. At first, I was reluctant about this, but Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun said that it would be okay. Besides, Sai was only able to summon four at a time. I stuck with their approval and we flew.  
Since Sai was the one who saw Hanabi last, we followed him to where he saw her being kidnapped. He eventually lead us past the forest and we were able to take in the majesty of the winter landscape. "It was around here that I lost sight of Hanabi's kidnapper," Sai pointed out. "Let's split up and search for clues. Naruto, take care of Hinata," Shikamaru executed. "Leave it to me," he promised.

We split up and I still felt a bit nervous being so close to Naruto-kun. "What is it?" he looked back. "Oh, nothing," I dismissed. The place we were at was pretty snowy, so I used my Byakugan to scope the area. I saw something hidden below and Naruto-kun picked up on my notice. "Oh." "What is it?" he checked. I told him my observation. We landed near the spot and dug in the snow to find Hanabi's kunai; its ninja keychain dangled in the wind. Fierce Hanabi put up a fight to the end.

"It's Hanabi's kunai," I told Naruto-kun. I opened my backpack to put the kunai in and Naruto-kun saw my ripped scarf inside. "Huh? You brought the scarf?" he noticed. "Huh?" I took back. "Why aren't you using it? Aren't you cold?" he questioned, referring to my jacket-less self. He didn't know who it was for and its ripped state. "I-I'm fine," I assured him and placed the kunai inside. I was planning on fixing it and trying to give it to him later. "Anyways, we'd better hurry and let Shikamaru and the others know." "Oh yeah, you're right," Naruto-kun remembered. That was a close save.

We went back on our eagle, told the others about the kunai, and flew past a waterfall. I lead the way this time, using my Byakugan. While looking, I noticed something. "What do you see, Hinata?" Shikamaru checked. "There's a spring that's glowing at the bottom of the cave," I reported. "A spring that's glowing?" he doubted.

We landed at the cave's entrance and the ink eagles were let go. I confirmed the area as the cave with the spring, so we walked into it. While we walked, some of us made glowing jutsus that illuminated our chakra so we could see. We eventually reached the glowing spring. It was a pretty, seafoam green that shimmered brightly in the dark cave. It was so bright that we could turn off our chakras. Sai pointed up to the ceiling and we noticed a letter on it. "That shinobi letter is "A," as in "Aun," Sai stated. Shikamaru added, "It could mean 'This is the beginning.'"


	9. The Dive

The Dive-Memory 8

"Hinata, what can you see at the bottom of the spring?" Shikamaru requested.

I checked around the area with my Byakugan. When I saw the spring, it was covered in black, so I couldn't identify what was inside it. "My vision is distorted," I reported. "Your Byakugan is distorting?" he continued. "We'll just have to go down there and see," Naruto-kun suggested.

"Whoa, I can't get this wet," he stopped. He proceeded to take off his scarf, since he deemed it too important for it to get wet. Sakura-chan pointed out, "You're so particular. What's the big deal if your scarf got wet?" "It's a big deal. This means a lot to me." Huh? Ouch.

"There is nothing to worry about," Sai announced to us. He scooped some water and continued, "I touched this water and I didn't get wet." The water shrunk and dissolved by the time he finished his sentence. How did that work? We took Sai's word for it and decided to dive in the spring. Shikamaru went first, then Naruto-kun, Sai, myself, and Sakura-chan jumped in.

It was such a strange, but comforting feeling to be able to be immersed in this water. The entire spring was bare with no flora or fauna swimming around us, just layers of rocks everywhere. I didn't have to worry about regular issues with swimming here, like having stinging eyes when they were opened, having to worry about going to the surface to catch my breath, or shivering from the cold since the water was warm. If only normal swimming could be like this, that would save lives.

As we plunged deeper into the spring, we noticed another spring with large bubbles at the bottom. We dived down further to see the "bubbles" as big, yellow spheres that were scattered in the second spring. The second spring was like the first one, but it felt different, like I was taking in the feeling of being immersed. I looked at a sphere and I saw someone appear from it.


	10. Intertwined Destinies

Intertwined Destinies-Memory 9

The Hidden Leaf Village was in shambles- boulders and debris stacked as high as the buildings they used to come from. It was as if a devastating earthquake struck, only it was worse since the destruction was manmade. I remembered now- this was when Pain attacked the village and destroyed it, before the Fourth Great Shinobi War.  
Katsuyu's slug clones healed us and I stood next to Ko-kun. I used my Byakugan to see that Naruto-kun was in the middle of fighting Pain. He was in his Sage Mode, fighting alone.  
"Naruto-kun is fighting Pain right now," I announced to Ko-kun. "Naruto-kun is fighting alone," I thought remorsefully.  
Pain used his Universal pull jutsu to pull Naruto-kun towards him, grab his throat, and thrust him to the ground. "Naruto-kun," I thought out. It felt like I was able to connect to him now.

Suddenly, it was the second part of the Chunin exams and Genin me was offering my ointment to Genin Naruto-kun. "Naruto-kun," I addressed as I bowed my head and stuck out my hands holding the ointment. It was really embarrassing when I offered it to him; I couldn't look at his face. "What is it?" Naruto-kun asked. "It's ointment," Kurenai-sensei stated for me. "Why're you giving it to me?" Naruto-kun continued. "Just accept it, Naruto," Kurenai-sensei suggested. "Thank you, you don't have to do this at all," he submitted.  
Pain did his Universal Pull jutsu again. After he did, Naruto-kun floated in the air, was dragged towards the wall, and screamed as he was smashed into it. Genin Naruto-kun became the Sage Naruto-kun and he was thrown into the ground again, with the ointment flying to the side.

Pain had several poles staked on Naruto-kun's body. "You're about to die now," he stated.  
As he was about to perform another jutsu, I jumped towards them, aiming at Pain. He dodged and my Gentle Fist hit smashed the ground.  
"Why did you come out here? You're no match for him!" Naruto-kun shouted. I stood my ground. "This time, I'm going to save you, Naruto-kun. I was always crying and giving up before trying. I made so many wrong turns." A flashback of the younger me trying to give Naruto-kun's scarf back came.  
"But you helped me find my way and take the correct path, Naruto-kun." Another flashback of Genin Naruto-kun slapping his hand on the table and me being surprised came.  
"I always chased after you. I wanted to walk beside you all the time." I pictured young Naruto-kun's determined face.  
"I want to be by your side, always." Naruto-kun cheered for me as I fought Neji-san in the Chunin Exams.  
"You changed me, Naruto-kun." I remembered a younger me standing in front of a tree while Naruto-kun was smiling and took off.  
"Your smile is what saved me." I closed my eyes and Naruto-kun's backside when he walked off was shown. I opened my eyes.  
"That's why I'm not afraid to die, if it means I can protect you. Because... I love you, Naruto-kun." I ended with a smile.

After I finished, Sakura-chan came running towards me and told me to wake up.  
Kurenai-sensei surprised me by showing me Naruto-kun's genjutsu after Sakura-chan woke me up.

* * *

Uzumaki, Naruto-Age 19

I stood in the back of my classroom at the Leaf Academy. Iruka-sensei was making a ridiculous assignment about who we'd want to be with at the end of the world. Kid Choji made a joke and everyone laughed.  
"Not Iruka-sensei again," I sighed. I don't know why I'm seeing this, nothing big happened that day. Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice the tall guy in the back. I should get out. I took a few steps forward but stopped when I saw a paper airplane fly past my knees.  
I looked to the right and saw Iruka-sensei walk towards kid me. "Hey, Naruto! Don't throw out your paper!" Iruka-sensei scolded. "But there's no way that the world's gonna end," kid me remarked with my hands behind my head. "I'm just saying 'if' it does," Iruka-sensei emphasized. "Well, it ain't gonna happen," kid me shrugged. I smiled from seeing my mischievous self; I don't know how Iruka-sensei was able to handle me back then.  
I heard a soft giggle from the left and turned. Kid Hinata held out her paper and I looked at it. My name was written on it. "Huh? Me?" I stated incredulously. Why would my name be on her paper?

"Naruto-kun!" Genin Hinata's voice shouted. I was watching the Chunin exams, after I beat Kiba and Hinata gave me her ointment. I was surprised to see Kurenai-sensei encouraging Genin me to accept it. After Genin me was asking why I should accept it, "current" Sakura replaced Kurenai-sensei and she blurted, "So dense." Huh?

"He can be so dense!" Sakura-chan exclaimed. I was leaning on a lamp post in the village and just stared at the snow, not able to face her. "You were going to give him that scarf, weren't you?" she asked someone. Who wanted to give me a scarf? "Uh-huh," a gentle voice affirmed. "You can do it, Hinata. Be confident," Sakura-chan encouraged. So Sakura-chan and Hinata were walking past here? "Thanks," Hinata returned. Would I have been able to accept the scarf, since I had this one on? I'm not sure what I'd do if it happened.

Hinata's face during my fight with Pain appeared as she proclaimed, "Naruto-kun, I-" Sakura-chan, Ino, and I were eating at Ramen Ichiraku, like the other night. "You really like ramen, don't you?" Sakura-chan noted. "Yup, I love it," I agreed as I separated my chopsticks.  
"Naruto-kun, I-" "You really like it," Ino affirmed. "Yup, I love Hinata," I agreed as I separated my chopsticks.

Sakura-chan was sitting in a dessert shop. "He's so dense. Maybe he doesn't know what love is," she bluntly put out there. Why does she keep saying I'm dense? "What do you mean?" Hinata inquired from across. "It's like knowing the difference between loving sweets- like shiratama dumplings, fruit gelatin, and love," Sakura-chan compared. "Huh, they're not the same?" I doubted as I was eating ramen across from Sakura-chan.

We went back to the night when I treated everyone at Ramen Ichiraku. Hinata was about to leave when Sakura-chan told me to walk her home. A girl held my arm and I didn't know why she was telling me to go with her when Hinata was really strong and didn't have to worry about something small like walking home. "Oh, you're such an idiot," Sakura-chan chided and left. "Why'd you call me an idiot?" I called back to her. Something's up.  
"Senpai, the gyoza are ready," a different girl announced and brought them to my face. It smelled so good. "Let's eat," the first girl suggested and grabbed my arm again. Last time, I didn't go, but I can't miss this chance again. I ignored their suggestions and walked off towards Hinata. "Hinata," I called out.

I ran towards her, past that same lamp post from a little bit ago. She disappeared and I stopped to catch my breath. A piece of paper flew around me and I caught it. It was the same one Hinata had when she wrote my name for that assignment. "Hinata," I murmured as I looked at the paper. I think I'm understanding Sakura-chan's words a little better now. The light turned off and I heard Hinata's voice. "That's why I'm not afraid to die-"  
A new light spotlighted on her as the snow blew and she continued, "-If it means I can protect you, because... I love you, Naruto-kun." I finally get it. "Hinata," I whispered. All this time, Hinata had loved me from the moment I saved her when we were kids... and I came to a warm realization-I love her too.

I've grown to respect the patient Hinata that never gave up on me after all these years whether I was shunned or acknowledged, admire the enduring Hinata that never stopped fighting against all odds, adore the stunning Hinata that had the light illuminate her fair complexion and eyes that contrasted her shadowy hair swaying in the wind, and revere the astounding Hinata that had ultimately won my heart.

She disappeared again and Sakura-chan ran towards me. "Naruto, wake up! This is a dream."

* * *

Responses to anonymous reviews:

To Diana: I do acknowledge that "The Last 30 Memories" is very parallel to the "Naruto: The Last Movie." I intended this story to be an unofficial novelization of the movie, as I have stated in the summary, like how people publish novelized versions of movies and video games. In a way, movies that were based from books are reflected in this manner, just flipped with different media. However, I have added details that were excluded in the movie that either were omitted for sake of time or added to enhance the written story, though I try to write as close to the movie in Hinata's perspective, as it is canon to the Naruto manga. It also helps with copyright issues. Some of Naruto's viewpoints will be added to the story, as I attempt to highlight important moments between him and Hinata. Also, I have plans to add more Naruto stories that may or may not be canon. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review for this chapter! :)


	11. Toneri's Proposal

Toneri's Proposal-Memory 10

Sakura-chan had her hands on Naruto-kun's chest as she had him wake up from the genjustu. "Oh, Sakura-chan," he breathed. All of us stood around him and I grasped onto my scarf. She let go and claimed, "You're finally awake." Naruto-kun shifted around and saw that we were inside one of the yellow spheres. He was able to get up and we left it. There was no flat land to walk on, so we had to hop on round, rock masses that were floating among the spheres.

"Is this a trap set by the enemy?" Sai inquired. "Yeah, it traps invaders in a genjutsu and shuts them away in a world of memories. It's a prison of caged memories. Thank goodness Sakura, who's resistant to genjutsus, was with us." Shikamaru explained. "Thanks, Sakura. I was having a fun dream with my nii-san in it," Sai smiled. "That doesn't sound like gratitude," Shikamaru denounced. "There's another spring," he noticed. We followed him towards it and reached it.

We were surrounded by enormous, icicled boulders and more orbs around the spring. I used my Byakugan to check the area. "Your Byakugan doesn't work here either?" Shikamaru checked. The spring was black, so I couldn't see beyond it again. "No, my field of sight is distorted," I confirmed. "All right, be ready to fight as we proceed," he prepared and lunged towards the spring. "Roger," Sakura-chan and Sai copied.

I was about jump in but saw Naruto-kun not moving. "What's the matter?" "About those genjutsu dreams earlier," he started. Oh, what did he see? "Huh, what is it?" He was struggling to express something, but turned away and smiled as he shrugged, "No, nevermind." Oh, okay. I wonder what he was going to say. It's his business though, I won't pry into it. He took a few steps and dived towards the spring. I took a few steps, but heard a repulsive tone call my name.

I turned around and confirmed it was him-Toneri. "I said I'd come for you. To have you come to me." "Where is Hanabi?" I demanded and stood in a fighter stance. "Don't worry, she's fast asleep in the castle," he assured and jumped towards me. Lies! "Return Hanabi," I contested. "That will depend on your answer, Byakugan Princess," he riddled and stepped closer. "Byakugan Princess?" I echoed. He finally opened his eyes, they were barely tinted white. "Hinata, let's get married," he proposed. "Huh, marry?" I parroted, taken back from his answer. What the heck?

Naruto-kun suddenly jumped out and stood in front of me. "Hinata!" he exclaimed. "Naruto-kun!" I responded. Thank goodness he came! He put his arm in front of me and warned, "Don't get near Hinata" to Toneri. "You again. You're in the way. Move," Toneri said monotonically. "Where is Hanabi?" Naruto-kun growled and charged at Toneri, who dodged his punch. They went back and forth between the rocks. Naruto-kun continued to charge at Toneri who was dodging and hitting him back.  
Toneri landed at a boulder that had a standing pillar on it, while Naruto-kun used it to spin around and knock Toneri out with his knees. He was finally able to suckerpunch him in the face, but it surprised us to see pieces of his face shatter and a glass eye roll up. Toneri got thrown against a wall and fell on his face. I jumped towards Naruto-kun who stared at his right hand and clenched it.

Toneri slowly picked himself up and walked a few steps. "You're a puppet?" Naruto-kun noted. "This is not my body," actually-puppet Toneri confirmed. When he came closer, Naruto-kun threw his arm in front of me. "Hinata, next time, the real me will come for you," the puppet warned. He looked up and continued. "Give me an answer then." Puppet Toneri's face was totally smashed and his left eye was exposed. "Shut up!" Naruto-kun yelled and charged at the puppet. Before he could hit its face, it collapsed to the ground. "Your fist will never reach me, never," it ended.

We gave the shattered puppet one last look. Toneri went so low as to making a puppet propose to me for marriage. That does not make me like him any better.

* * *

Responses to anonymous reviews:

To Guest: I am unsure of who James is, unless that is another name for Toneri, then all right. Otherwise, I do intend to add more about Otsutsuki clan, a.k.a. Ootsusuki, in the upcoming chapters. But, thanks to your review, I will certainly add information about them.


	12. False World

False World-Memory 11

We left and dived towards the spring. Naruto-kun lead the way and we eventually found the surface. It looked like a cave with blue bubbles strung along the sides, like chains of blue pearls. The cave was lit from a large hole on the ceiling, so we could see well. We stopped to see a gargantuan crab lying among shattered earth. It was red and blue with yellow accents on it, quite pretty. I was glad it was dead, though. I hated crabs, more or less eating them. We caught up with the others and Shikamaru let us in on what happened to them. He and Sai went ahead to check the cave.

"Did your punch do this, Sakura-chan?" Naruto-kun asked. "Oh yeah," Sakura-chan proudly reflected. "Naruto, if you leave Hinata behind and expose her to danger again, you'll get a taste of my fists too," she warned. "I know. Hinata, I'll never let you-" I looked up at him. His eyes and mouth were wide open, but he looked away as he quietly finished, "I'll never let you out of my sight again." "What? You're already looking away," Sakura-chan teased literally. "Huh, I'm not looking away," he denied.

We eventually got out of the cave and we stopped. "What is this place?" Shikamaru rhetorically asked, summarizing our thoughts. We stopped at a ledge with the vast ocean spread out, some mountains in the distance, and noticeable clouds above them. Even higher was a green mass within a transparent bubble. "Is that island floating?" Naruto asked. "No, the surface of the ocean is warped," Shikamaru observed. "There's also sunlight underground, too," Sakura-chan added. "Isn't that a fake?" Shikamaru noted and we looked up. "A man-made sun?" Sai pointed out. "Yeah," Shikamaru confirmed. I wonder how that happened.

Sai offered to use his jutsu to create some ink eagles to cross the ocean. We got on the eagles and I got to sit with Naruto-kun again. We flew over the ocean and I used my Byakugan to lead the way. By the time we made it over land, it was sunset. "Hinata, any sign of the enemy?" Shikamaru followed up. "No, we're good," I checked back. "The enemy is aware of us. Why aren't they attacking?" Sakura mentioned. "Yeah, that bothers me. It's too quiet," he agreed.

When the sun went down, we decided to make camp. We chose a quiet clearing among the trees and landed there.

We gathered around to eat some onigiris that we packed and I gave everyone some edible berries I found along the way. We set up a tent and assigned night guard duties. Sakura-chan suggested to everyone that they should let me sleep in the tent for the night. I was really surprised and kept insisting that someone else use it, but everyone kept encouraging me to use it. I couldn't do any more about it, so I used the tent.

Shikamaru, Sai, and Sakura-chan slept outside of the tent and Naruto-kun climbed up a tree to sleep there. After an hour, I got up from the tent and walked out towards another clearing with a log in the middle. I sat down, set my knitting equipment, and started fixing the red scarf. The sky was clear, the moonlight was bright enough for me to see what I was doing, crickets were chirping around me, and I was at peace. After I fixed some of it, I went back to the tent and to sleep.


	13. Ghost Town

Ghost Town-Memory 12

Morning came and we cleared out our campout to continue our search. Sai summoned his ink eagles and we took off in flight. I used my Byakugan to lead the way. I'm grateful that my Byakugan could let me see small details, like random animals scattered in the forest. There were even some birds who were flying near us. The day was calm and clear; being able to see the outside world was one of my favorite parts about going on missions. Eventually, I did detect something to the north. "I see a town about 12.4 miles (20 km) away," I announced to everyone. "All right, let's go," Shikamaru directed. I relaxed my Byakugan and looked behind Naruto-kun. He's not wearing his scarf right now; I wonder what for.

We passed the forest to see the town on a mountain. I used my Byakugan again to check within it. The town was set entirely in stone; stonemasons must have forged stones from the mountain to build the town that had condensed its buildings to fit on the mountain. Strangely enough, there was nobody inside the town- no villagers, children, or guards. "There's nobody here," I observed. "This town was built a few centuries ago. Let's split up and search," Shikamaru executed. We split up to different parts of the town.

Naruto-kun and I found a little street and agreed to land there. We landed on the spot and the ink eagle was let go.

The town was set entirely in stone, both the houses and the streets. Though there were broken buildings, we could tell that this was built by sophisticated measures. It was really neat to see the ruins and thick shrubbery covering them. It was really interesting how differently structured this town was from the other villages I've visited in different nations. I could only imagine what it was like when the town was functioning-people scrambling for food, experiencing the hustle and bustle of life, taking care of business, and fulfilling dreams.

Naruto-kun and I looked inside some houses for clues. Each house had large entrances and no door covering them. Making stone doors would've been too difficult to install. Naruto checked a house on the right and I checked a house on the left. I noticed a window shaped like the door on the wall that held three small pots and a birdbath below it. I was ready to go inside.

As I took a few steps past the entrance, something got caught on my face and I screamed. "What's wrong? Hinata?" Naruto-kun shouted and ran inside. Then he knelt next to me as I was combing my hair. "It's a spider web," I told him. He was relieved when I saw that I was initially okay. "You can see far with your Byakugan, but you walk straight into a spider web," he noted. He was right, it was ironic of me to do that.

"You're so silly," he continued as he grabbed the hair I was taking out the web from. I jumped a little, but I put my hands down and stood still. He picked out the webbing and combed through my hair, stroking it gently. It was very kind of him to do so. I couldn't help but to blush a little, it probably was dark enough for him not to notice. I could feel the warmth of his fingers on his left hand and the coolness of his fingers on his right hand. Even when I felt that all the webbing was gone, he stroked a few more times, but ended. Oh, it felt so good when he went through my hair.


	14. Warmer

Warmer-Memory 13

Naruto-kun and I walked out of the house to the street and took some stairs to the right of us. We reached the top and saw a wall that had a fountain attached to it and a simple-shaped person dispersing water. Surprisingly, it was still flowing, though there were some cracks to the side that let the water leak to the ground.

He scooped some water and brought it to his lips. They raised into a smile and he deemed the water safe. He scooped some more water, but surprised me when he offered it to me. Oh, how thoughtful. I closed my eyes as I tucked my hair behind my left ear and sipped from his fingers. Wow, the water was tasty. I smiled when I told him this and he also smiled back. We drank some more until our thirsts were satiated.

Naruto-kun noticed a large building to the right of us so we walked over to it. It was at the end of the path and we walked to the entrance. The interior was large and dark, so I used my Byakugan like Naruto-kun mentioned when I got caught by the web. I looked towards him, but shielded myself with my hand as he looked my direction. Oh dear, I was embarrassed. We saw nothing and left.

We came across a broken bridge that still had its pillars standing and jumped across each one. As I made a jump on one of them, I scraped the edge and fell, but Naruto-kun reached for me and grabbed my hand. Oh gosh, he saved me from death! He pulled me up and fell back. I looked up to see him smiling as he still held my hand. We both noticed this, so I let go and held it to my heart as he ruffled his hair and nervously laughed. Why did he hold it longer? It did make me happy to feel my hand still warm from Naruto-kun's grip.

We were walking down the cobblestone street and looking at all the houses around us. I was going to ask him something... oh, I remember now. I gathered my thoughts and looked up. "Naruto-kun," I started. "What is it?" he requested. "What happened to your scarf?" I asked. "Oh," he faintly laughed. "It's warm underground, so I took it off," he explained. "I-I see," I smiled. I felt a quick shiver on my arms. "I feel a bit cold," I mentioned and rubbed them. How could he be warm when I felt cold? "I bet you are, dressed like that," Naruto-kun noticed and looked up and down at me. "It's just that, it's my mission gear," I justified. I liked my clothes, they functioned well.  
"If you can take it, I can handle a little cold like this," he hoped. "Ha, ha-shik!" he sneezed. Oh dear, the cold caught him. "Are you okay?" I checked. "I'm totally fine," he disregarded and threw his hands around his head. He was trying so hard to cover himself up, hehe.  
"What?" "It's nothing," I giggled. "What is it?" he continued and faced me. "I said it's nothing," I assured him. "Tell me," he egged on, but I continued to laugh. I was so glad I could be happy with Naruto-kun like this and for the first time, I felt comfortable to be around him. I never thought I could. We continued to walk down the cobblestone street, walking in a bright afternoon.


	15. Physical and Emotional Healing

Physical and Emotional Healing-Memory 14

We walked up the street when Naruto-kun's stomach growled. I laughed when I heard it but stopped when I heard my own stomach growl. Now both of us were laughing. "Come on, I got some instant ramen we can eat," Naruto-kun offered and we found a house to eat in. This house had an open ceiling so sunlight could pour through and we could see the living room all right.  
We set up the ramens, pots, and burner. Naruto-kun got the pot and told me to wait as he fetched water from the fountain to use. I got some chopsticks out for us to use as well. He quickly came back, boasting how fast he fetched the water. As he did, a little bit of the water splashed back onto his jacket, which simmered his pride. He nervously laughed and placed the pot onto the burner, and I turned it on. He walked back and forth in the room while I just sat against the wall and reflected on the last few days that occurred. A watched pot doesn't boil, after all.

"Hey, it's boiling," Naruto-kun pointed out. "All right, could you pass me the ramens, please?" I asked. He brought them, but insisted that he poured the water for me. He poured the water onto my ramen, then to his. We covered our lids and put our chopsticks on top of them so it'll trap steam better. "Ugh, I hate the three minute wait it takes to wait for ramen," he grunted. "Well, it's okay because you can do other stuff in between that time," I mentioned. "Well, yeah, I suppose," he sighed.

He went back to pacing around the room and poking the various jars around us, while I went back to thinking about what Sakura-chan, Shikamaru, and Sai found. We haven't found much that would explain clues about Toneri or Hanabi, but maybe they found some things. I'm sure it also was fun for them to explore this ancient town.  
Naruto-kun checked his ramen and said they were ready. We picked up our cups and mixed our noodles. "Idatakimasu!" Naruto-kun exclaimed and I whispered. "Mmm, so good!" he munched. Yeah, the ramen was good. I mixed my ramen a little more to cool it. I ate little by little and eventually finished the cup. He quickly finished his last bite and gulped the broth.

"That was so good," Naruto-kun sighed and stood up. "Are you going somewhere?" I asked. "I'm gonna take a leak," he replied. He waved and was about to walk towards a room, but sprun around, ran up a wall, did a backflip, and fell backwards towards the room. "Naruto-kun!" Oh no, what happened?

I went up and kneeled next to the fallen Naruto-kun. "A spider web," he groaned and grabbed it out of his face. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Yeah," he replied and got up on his knees. "Ow," he winced and grabbed his back. "What's wrong?" I continued. He looked to the right and said, "I think I hurt my back." "Hmm, let's see," I said out loud and thought about it. Oh, I can let him use my ointment! "I have some ointment in my bag, I'll be right back!" I told him. I quickly went back upstairs, got the ointment from my backpack, and offered it to him.

"Here you go," I told him and I saw his jacket behind him. "Thanks. Oh yeah, you gave me some ointment back in the Chunin exams," he mentioned. He unscrewed the cap and placed it on the ground. "You remembered all this time," I noted. "Actually, I just remembered," he corrected. Still, it gave me hope to know that he did remember. I hoped the ointment was useful for him then, as it will be soon.  
He lifted his shirt a little and tried to reach over his back. He couldn't, so he bent forward to reach his back. He continued to struggle, but eventually just tumbled down. I stammered, but volunteered to help him. Since he definitely had a hard time putting it on, it may be easier if I put it on for him. He straightened out and said yes. He sat down and lifted his shirt again.

I reached for the ointment, swiped some on, and knelt to rub it on Naruto-kun's back. I saw a bad bruise the size of a small fist and started rubbing there. His back was smooth, I could feel the tension knotted on the area around his bruise. I was so glad that I was able to do this for Naruto-kun! I continued to rub more ointment onto it and the bruise started to get warmer. It started to shrink a little, but I rubbed a little more to finish. As I reached for the ointment lid, Naruto-kun shifted his head towards the left and formally said, "Thanks." It surprised me, but I smiled back at him.

He pulled his shirt down and I screwed the lid back to the jar. I put my hand down, but I accidently knocked my backpack and Hanabi's kunai clang the ground. Oh yeah, Hanabi. "We have to hurry and rescue Hanabi," Naruto-kun sobered. Time to go back to reality. "Naruto-kun, I'd like to talk to you about something." He turned around and replied, "What is it? "About what you said when that puppet Toneri appeared," I continued and looked down. Did he mean it when he said he'll never let me out of his sight? "Toneri?" he took back.

"Here they are," a voice announced. We both looked up the window to see Sai looking down to us. "Hinata, we need you to check something," he requested.


	16. Byakugan Princess

Byakugan Princess-Memory 15

We told Sai we'd be right out, but had to clean up a little beforehand. Oh dear, I forgot to turn off the burner. I turned it off, put the boiling pot on the ground so it could cool, and disassembled the burner when it cooled down. Unfortunately, there wasn't more we could do with the water, so we carefully poured it over the ground outside. We were able to catch up with everyone else.

Shikamaru directed us to an isolated section of the town. A towering statue of Otsutsuki, Hagoromo, the Sage of the Six Paths, appeared before us. His entire mouth, neck, and below were shattered, like a bolt of lightning struck him. He was engraved inside an opening that was carved out to further carve the statue. Shikamaru stood on the shattered rocks to examine the statue, while Naruto-kun was climbing down from it. Sakura-chan saw a large, bell-shaped statue with diamond holes ringing around it. Between us, there were stone pillars holding the cliff up. Could this place be a key to the downfall of the town?

Shikamaru noticed that the broken statue had an opening inside, so Sakura-chan lit some lanterns and gave them to Shikamaru, Naruto-kun, and Sai. We walked with them and saw a large creature with an eight-pointed sun symbol resting on its head carved on the wall. Shikamaru said he noticed something else outside the sun symbol- words.

"What's it say?" Naruto asked. "It's some ancient handwriting. 'An ancient oath crossing the path to humanity like all else. The fist of the first Tensei eye, the reborn moon, will destroy man,'" Shikamaru interpreted. "What does that mean?" Sakura-chan questioned. "Maybe the 'Tensei eye' is making the moon move," he theorized. "So Kakashi-sensei was right? Hanabi's abduction and the moon are somehow connected," she realized as they looked at each other. "Well, his hunches are always on target, unfortunately," he ironically laughed.

A man's voice called in my head, "Byakugan Princess." Oh? The cave suddenly started to shake. "What's that?" Shikamaru interjected. Sakura-chan jumped away as the statue shifted and a cloud of dust rushed up. A small opening on the ground appeared with stairs inside it. Each of us went in, one by one. Shikamaru went first and guided us with the lantern. We saw the same sun symbol on the ground and looked up to see numerous coffins and sticks aligned.

"Is this a burial site?" Shikamaru discovered and turned his lantern towards an open coffin that had a thick, pasty substance overflowing the opening. "What's this?" I saw some movement. "Someone's here!" I warned. Shikamaru pointed his lantern to the left and saw a decaying man stepping his way towards us. He had a thick cloth over his thicker robe, a beard, and shoulder-length, brown hair that had some strands fall on his forehead.  
"The Byakugan, I sense the Byakugan. Oh, I'm certain of it," he groaned. "Oh, Byakugan Princess," he dragged towards me. What does he want with me? Naruto-kun ran in front of the man and shouted, "Stay away from Hinata." The man finally opened his eyes, to reveal the lack of them. We were taken back from the sight. He groaned again and fell to his knees. Then his mouth stretched to release an energy ball that floated in front of us. The ball burst an enormous light and I saw visions appear.

A particular one showed an army behind a large tower holding the same energy ball and it burst a large wave onto another army with the sun symbol on their banners. That army was obliterated upon contact.

Upon the surge of visions, I started to get light headed and collapsed. Before I fell, Naruto-kun called my name and caught me. "What did you do to Hinata?" he demanded. The mysterious man slowly stood up as the ball returned to his chest. "The Tenseigan has revived," he answered. His head and body collapsed to the ground, a putrid liquid spilling to the ground. "It must be stopped-Otsutsuki," his head mentioned in his final words.

We were finally able to get out. I was getting dizzy and knelt to the ground. "Hinata, are you all right?" Sakura-chan checked as she rested her hand on my shoulders. I nodded. "That man said something like Otsutsuki. That's the original surname of the Sage of the Six Paths," Shikamaru explained to me. So we actually went inside a tomb where the Sage of the Six Paths and his army rested? And what did I have to do with it?

Nightfall came and all of us found an abandoned house to stay in. I looked around and found an empty room. I looked around. Since nobody was here, I might as well continue Naruto-kun's scarf, I haven't worked on that for a few days. I placed my lantern on an empty space on the wall and gathered my materials. It also gave me some down time to figure out what the man in the tomb said and showed me. Yes, I have the Byakugan ability, but what made me different? My father is the current head clan leader, okay. Am I a better fit for an heiress than Hanabi? Is this a privilege given to the first-born? Oh, I strung that loop too loosely. I have to go back and fix it.

I felt a presence come to me. The shadows grew taller. "Hinata, what is it that you wanted to talk about earlier?" "You mentioned something about what Toneri's puppet said?" he added. "Oh, that. It was nothing," I disregarded and continued knitting. Naruto-kun walked in. It's not going to do any good if he knows, in fact, it might hurt him. "Huh? What do you mean nothing?" he asked and stepped closer. "I'm sorry, I want to be alone," I can't believe I said that, but I have too much to think about. One pause later... "I see," he acknowledged and walked away. I feel so horrible, but I'll tell him eventually and hopefully he'll forgive me. A small chill in the room flew after he left.


	17. Starry Night

Starry Night-Memory 16

We woke up and left the village. It could be important, we might come back to it. Sai used his chakra eagles to give us a lift. We were flying past the mountain, the forest, and the ocean. Naruto-kun and I haven't spoken since last night. "Let's check out that village," Shikamaru suggested as he came towards us. We followed him towards another section of unexplored terrain.

We came upon some mountains that did indeed have another empty village in it. It was even larger than the last one, but had a similar infrastructure. What happened to both of these villages? We landed and were split to find clues. Naruto-kun and I found a cobblestone path and started walking. I kept... a comfortable distance away from him as he lead the way. I couldn't look up, only at his feet. Maybe he was right-last night would've been a good opportunity to talk about Toneri's words. I shouldn't have pushed him away like that.

We arrived to see the main city and we checked inside buildings for clues. No people were in sight.

The descending sun was melting into molten aureate around us. Naruto hopped on a small wall in front of us and we paused to take in the view of the second village. Houses were crammed on four mountains and giant, fan-like trees were dotted in between them. It was unbelievable, as we also were surrounded by large buildings and larger trees like that behind us. "Seems like Hanabi's not here anymore," Naruto-kun said. That's true, this village doesn't have any clues related to her here. Some wind from the mountains whistled through us and blew my hair.

I don't want to believe Hanabi to be dead, but if she really is, I'll have to accept the consequences. After all, I was the one who told her to stay home since it was getting dark and cold that night. How ironic it was that home, the common safe haven, became the perfect spot to take her away. And speaking of houses-what caused the abandonment of two ninja villages, especially one this grand? Natural disasters didn't seem to strike them, but they were empty nevertheless. Perhaps the villages were from the main (small village) and branch families (large village) of the Otsutsuki clan that went extinct, from whom the Hyugas are distant descendants of, which explains the tradition of main and branch families that divide us to this day. Maybe that's why the smaller village housed Hamura-san's tomb, since he's from the main family. Oh right, those visions he showed me did include the Main family's army being wiped out from that energy ball. Perhaps the Branch family invaded the rest of the Main family, but they too were wiped out. So where do I fit in as "Byakugan Princess," as Hamura-san and Toneri called me? What role do I play as part of the main family of the Hyuga clan?

* * *

Uzumaki, Naruto

This village was really big, but there still were no people around, like that last one. It kinda sucks that there's nobody around that could tell us what happened, but at least I can be with Hinata now. These last few days with her made me realize how I've grown to enjoy her company a little more. Even then, I hope we're not too late in finding Hanabi. "Seems like Hanabi's not here anymore," I stated. Some wind blew towards us and I looked over towards Hinata.

There was something about Hinata right now that threw me off guard. I've seen cheerful, nervous, hopeful, and even indignant sides of her, but I've never seen her so... morose. There was a sort of reverence in the way poetry flowed through her deep contemplation. Her forlorn eyes looked down towards the distance, like the world could be hers, but was still out of reach. I'd give that world to her, just to be her reason to go on. It struck me again-this is the girl I succumbed six, almost all nine, tails to. Funny thing is, I'd do again for her.  
But, she's so out of my league, I'm not good enough for her. Even if I told her I loved her, how would she react? Does she still have feelings for me, or is it too late? It was kinda awkward between us last night, could she forgive me? Ugh, it's late, we should head back.

I turned around and stood up. "We should head back and rejoin the others," I suggested to Hinata.

* * *

Hyuuga, Hinata

"Uh-huh," I nodded. Still, I couldn't look away from the fall of shinobi (and ancestors) so noble. But, Naruto-kun's right-there's nothing here for us in this village. I turned around to join him and the others. We headed inside a dark building, but Naruto-kun lit a lantern and some other lights started to follow us. Sakura-chan, Sai, and Shikamaru's faces brightened and they asked us what we found. We didn't find anything, but neither did they. Shikamaru decided that we should make camp on an opening surrounded by rocks.

The bronzing sun cooled into an azure calm for the evening. I took a short nap and awoke at midnight. I got my backpack to continue the scarf and checked everyone still sleeping, looks good. I left the camp and made my own path around the forest. There were some places that had moonlight leaked through the trees, but they weren't wide enough for me to see while knitting. Soon, I heard the ebbs of a gentle river flow.  
I walked closer to the forest edge, listening for pitter-patters of water smoothing over rocks. I found it. Pink flowers bloomed openly under the full moon and glowing butterflies stirred around. I found a smooth rock near the bank and sat there to continue knitting. Everything was so dreamy, like I was experiencing a night painting with crickets and frogs chirping around. Even though night was blue, it relied on yellow to highlight the black around it, even revealing surprises of pink below. However, the guilt swirling inside in my heart was even darker.

Hanabi's probably trapped in a shady hideaway with Toneri, probably torturing her. What is it about us that he needs? What if he originally intended to kidnap me, but I was just lucky because I had Naruto-kun rescue me? How should I respond to Toneri's proposal? Why did I have to let the last time I see her be when I got mad from her teasing? I'd give gold, time, anything just to get her back. Even if she was my competition for heiress of the Byakugan clan, even if she likes to tease me, even for adding a keychain to her kunai and treating it like a toy, she's still my only imoto. Most families in the Hidden Leaf Village weren't granted the privilege of siblings, only Kiba and mine. I'm supposed to be the big sister looking out for her, but instead I'm doing nothing. I'm knitting on a rock, for goodness' sakes!

* * *

Uzumaki, Naruto

I heard some shuffling from our camp and awoke to see Hinata sneaking out again. She was wandering around the forest and I secretly followed behind. She eventually came to a small river that had glowing butterflies everywhere. She walked toward a large rock and sat on it, then began knitting. What is she knitting? Who is she knitting for? Maybe the other night wasn't a good time to talk, but I still want to make things right with her.

I came closer and stood behind a tree, unable to face her. How can I tell her how I feel and fix things? A butterfly landed on a flower near my foot and it gave me hope. I took a breath and turned around to walk to her. "Hinata," I called out.

"My imoto is in so much danger and here I am, knitting. I'm a terrible big sister, aren't I?" she remorsed, concentrating on her knitting. "That's not true. You've come all this way just to save your sister," I told her and I took a few steps forward. I know I'd do the same. "I'm sure if I stayed at home, then Hanabi would be safe," she regretted. No! "Don't worry, I swear I will rescue Hanabi!" I shouted and came closer. She finally looked up.

"Arigato. You're so kind, Naruto-kun," she smiled. What did I do that was kind? I should be be the one thanking her, after all these years. "Hey, I'm not just being kind because I love you or anything. I'm just worried about Hanabi," I nervously thanked. "Oh!" she gasped and suddenly stood up. "What did you say?" she asked. "Huh?" I asked. "Did you say something?" she rephrased. Oh frick, I slipped! "I'm worried about Hanabi," I repeated, bringing my head down. "Oh, yeah. I forgot," Hinata deflated.

We both looked down, embarrassed at ourselves. We need to focus on what's important-getting Hanabi home. No, telling her this was the reason why I came here!

"Hinata," I called. She looked up in anticipation. "I... love you."


	18. Best Intentions

Best Intentions-Memory 17

He said it, and he meant it. All my life, this was the moment I never knew could happen. In that perfect moment, the world stood still between him and me. But what if he comes...? "Hinata," Naruto-kun said. A cold front blew. We turned around to see Toneri descending on a floating platform. He stopped at the bank and Naruto-kun ran towards him. "Toneri, are you another puppet? Where is Hanabi?" Naruto-kun interrogated.

"Silence," Toneri commanded and opened his electrifying, blue eyes. It's the real Toneri. "I came to hear Hinata's answer." "Answer? Hinata has nothing to say to you! So where's Hanabi?" Naruto-kun barked.

Why of all times?! I hate to do this, but it looks like I have no other choice. I have to answer yes for Hanabi and to see how to stop Toneri. Meanwhile, I need to pretend that I'm totally okay with him kidnapping my sister and marrying me. To make sure Naruto-kun understands my answer, I'll give him my scarf. I went to my bag and got my scarf. He looked towards me and I brought his scarf. "Hinata?" Please don't misunderstand, I'll explain it all later. I pushed the scarf against him and turned around towards Toneri. "Hey. Hinata, what's going on?" I took a step on the platform and towards Toneri. I can't believe it, I have to bluff it. "Goodbye, Naruto-kun."

"Huh?" he asked. Toneri opened his arm and I leaned towards his embrace. We left Naruto-kun behind and were lifted into the air. "HINATA!" he shouted. He ran towards us, holding the scarf as he activated his Shadow Clone Jutsu. Some of Toneri's puppets on large crows appeared and started to strike his clones. Thankfully, Sai's ink eagles caught him midair. Shikamaru threw a paper bomb and the puppets fought them.

Naruto-kun came towards us and demanded, "Give Hinata back!" "Give her back?" Toneri turned around and pulled me with him. "Hinata came to me willingly. This has been destined since ancient times. Hinata and I shall be married." I couldn't stand to face Naruto-kun. He had a Rasengan on his hand. "M-marry? Hinata, that's a lie, right?" I couldn't answer, so I just shut my eyes.

I opened them to see Toneri use his Tenseigan chakra. It overlapped Naruto-kun's Rasengan, absorbed it, took his chakra, and slammed towards the earth. "My chakra is..." His ink eagle was also absorbed. A huge explosion impacted the earth and left an immense crater.

That was unnecessary. "What are you doing?" I asked. "I don't want to get into a petty fight and risk getting you hurt," Toneri answered. He made a Tenseigan ball and it was absorbing my consciousness. Just before I blacked out, I saw Naruto-kun falling towards the crater, unable to resist anymore. His limbs were wide spread, let go of the scarf. What was remaining of the scarf was been eaten by the fire and dissolved. Naruto-kun, know that you are loved.


	19. Consequences of Ignorance

Consequences of Ignorance-Memory 18

I woke up in an ornate room on a red bed. "Where am I? I got up, walked towards a window and looked out. It was dusk and bare. "This is... Toneri's castle." I immediately left my room to see an even larger hall. I looked to the left, but went straight towards another room. I opened the door to gasp as I saw the impossible. "Hanabi!"

It was Hanabi, but a large bandage covered her eyes. She was sleeping in a bed that looked like mine. I used my Byakugan to see what happened to her. Her eye sockets were black. Oh my goodness. "Hanabi's eyes have been taken."

A flashback went through my mind, back when puppet Toneri proposed to me before I dived in. "Hinata, let's get married," he said. "Huh, married? What are you saying? Let Hanabi-" I got cut off. A large dome covered us and showed an image of Hanabi sleeping on that bed. I'm kind of freaked out that she wasn't actually sleeping then...

"Your imoto is in my castle," puppet Toneri stated. "Hanabi!" I shouted. The real Toneri walked and looked towards us in the dome, saying, "I've taken her Byakugan." "You're terrible!" I gasped. "I'm sorry. It's due to Hamura's Celestial Degree," Toneri apologized. "Hamura?" I asked.

"Otsusuki, Hamura, the founder of the Shinobi of the Moon. Perhaps, it's easier to understand if I say he's the younger brother of the Sage of Six Paths, founder of the Shinobi on Earth. Your Hyuga clan inherited Hamura's blood. The story goes back many eons. Several millennia, in fact. The Sage of Six Paths, the Elder one, had misgivings. He feared that the Ten Tails, with its massive chakra and immeasurable power, would bring calamity to the world. So the Sage of Six Paths extracted the Ten Tails chakra and divided it among nine Tailed Beasts in order to weaken its power. The husk of the Ten Tails whose chakra was extracted, namely the Gedo statue, was hidden away and sealed on the moon, so that the Ten Tails would never be revived. Hamura decided to live on the moon in order to guard the Gedo statue. The Sage of the Six Paths became the founder of the Shinobi of Earth.

But Hamura was skeptical of the world his elder brother was creating, so if the world created by his brother went astray from the Shinobi way, he entrusted his descendants with its destruction. Through the millennia that has passed, fighting between Shinobi has not ceased. They continue to use chakra as a weapon. Ultimately, the Gedo statue was stolen and even if the Ten Tails had survived, our clan has reached the conclusion that the Shinobi on Earth will destroy the world's peace and order.

The world that the Sage of Six Paths created is a failure. So, in accordance with the Celestial Degree of Hamura, I will destroy the world of the Sage of Six Paths. When this pure Byakugan synergizes with my chakra, it will transform into Tenseigan. With its visual prowess, I will pick up the ashes of Earth and create a new world," Toneri explained.

No way am I going to let that happen. "I don't believe your story, and I'm going to rescue Hanabi," I intended. "Even when you don't know where the castle is located?" Toneri asked. The dome detracted. "I'll return for your answer," Puppet Toneri said.

I went back to my fighter stance, ready to fight. That's when Naruto-kun decided to show up.

I ended the flashback and I looked at Hanabi, recalling Toneri's warning. "Good morning," current Toneri greeted in the room. I turned around to face him. "I'm happy that you understand how I feel, Hinata." That's far from the truth. He escorted me outside of the room and walked past puppet girls and a puppet woman that addressed, "Hinata-sama, welcome to the castle." "Welcome," the dolls bowed. "There are only puppets in this castle," I observed. Some puppet boys were scrubbing the stairs. "They're marionettes left here by our ancestors. Since my father died when I was young, I've lived in the castle all by myself," Toneri agreed. I must admit, that is a very lonely life.

We took some stairs to the roof and entered a small, dim chapel. We stood in front of a glowing moon. "We will hold the marriage ceremony here. Then we will enter the Room of Rebirth and fall into a deep slumber until the Earth's environment stabilizes after its destruction," Toneri shared. "That's impossible, the moon will also be destroyed," I pointed out. "Don't worry, this castle is protected by a strong chakra," he assured. "Is that chakra really that strong?" I asked. "Yes, strong enough to move the moon," he mentioned and turned around to leave. "What do you mean?" I followed behind. So he was the one responsible for the moon clashing to the earth?

"It's the power of Otsutsuki's treasure, honed from the sufferings of my clan," Toneri said. "Where would such a thing be?" I inquired. He stopped to reply, "That is something... I cannot tell you." Ah shoot, he doesn't fully trust me yet. I want to go back. "May I return to my room? It's cold outside."

"That's because it's dusk here all year. Oh, that's right. Will you knit me a scarf?" Toneri asked out of the blue. "Huh?" He turned around, somewhat more hopeful. "A scarf just for me," he furthered. Well, if he insists. Maybe it'll buy me more time here. "Do you refuse?" I decided to accept his request. "I understand," I agreed. "Really? Thank you. You've made me happy, Hinata," Toneri brightened. I don't want to make a scarf for Toneri, I only want to make one for Naruto-kun. I heard Toneri shaking in pain, covering his eyes. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Don't worry. It's proof that the Byakugan is maturing into the Tenseigan. It will subside with a little rest," Toneri disregarded and left me alone. Now's my chance! While he left, I used my Byakugan and scanned the castle. "It doesn't seem to be here."

"Byakugan Princess." The memory of me getting Hamura-san's chakra came to me. The main army stood before the branch army, wind howling at fluttering banners from both sides. That man, as the general, ordered the main army to charge. The branch general commanded, "Tenseigan, activate." A tower of chakra activated and beamed at the main army. They were totally obliterated with explosions. The entire army was wiped out.

Hamura-san's chakra let me see that the tomb was full of bodies from the main army and they stood with that man in front of me. "We are descendants of Hamura-san. We belong to the main family of the Otsutsuki clan. We were annihilated by the Branch family, who twisted the interpretation of Hamura's Celestial Decree. Toneri, a descendant of the branch family, is attempting to make the moon fall into the earth using the power of the Tenseigan. Only you can destroy the Tenseigan, Byakugan Princess." The main army started to kneel and parted themselves. The general also knelt as Hamura came towards me. "You are Otsutsuki, Hamura-san," I pointed out. He nodded. "Byakugan Princess. Do not let the world that my elder brother created come to an end."

Hamura-san, himself, entrusted me to the protection of the main family, and the world. I looked back at Hanabi as I held her hand. I saw and felt her thumb move. "Hanabi, you poor thing. I'll definitely find and destroy it... the Tenseigan," I promised her.


	20. Building Castles in the Sky

Building Castles in the Sky-Memory 19

Toneri invited me to dinner. The puppets placed a full course meal with steak before us and he began to eat. "Meals are nice when you have someone to talk to," Toneri mentioned. Despite the elaborate meal before me, I couldn't touch it. After all, we were at the opposite ends of a long, dining table. "Now, tell me about yourself," Toneri started.

This is my chance. "It's not too late to negotiate with the Shinobi of Earth," I protested. "What?" he asked. "You're right. The Shinobi of Earth have used chakra and continued fighting, but it's different now. In order to protect this hard-earned peace, shinobi have joined together," I informed him. "So, they will start another war. The Sage of the Six Paths' world must be destroyed," he insisted. "But-" "Never bring up that subject again. Now be quiet and eat," he ordered after slamming his goblet. There's no use in negotiating anymore. A large, stone building went across the windows and I turned towards it. "That island," I pointed out. "So it's appeared already. This is Hamura's temple. Once a year, during the Rebirth festival, it comes near the castle," he explained. We ended the rest of the time in silence. Maybe he's hiding something in there.

After dinner, we went to a study room and some puppets brought tea for us. I knitted the scarf in front of him as he sipped his tea. After he left, I also left to secretly go outside. I looked around and eventually found the temple, so I used my Byakugan to take a closer look at it. Even with the chilly wind thrashing at me, I stood my ground. "I'm sure of it. The Tenseigan is hidden on that island."

* * *

Uzumaki, Naruto

Hinata looked down at me for the last time with her icy glare. "Goodbye, Naruto-kun." Then she went with Toneri to the moon. "Hinata," I called out. "Hinata!" "You're finally awake," a voice blurted. Wait, what? "Finally?" I asked and looked to the left. I was lying down in a cave while Sai and Shikamaru were sitting near a fire. "It's been three days," Shikamaru cleared up and they walked towards me. I've been out for three days? "Did something happen between you and Hinata?" he asked. "No, not really," I lied. "You kept groaning her name, Hinata, Hinata, as well as some other embarrassing things. But I got to hear listen in on your mushy side. It was such great research material for me," Sai had to point out. Seriously? "Come on," Shikamaru chided to him. He's right though, I should get over it. I laid back down, away from them. "Naruto, let's go rescue Hinata and Hanabi," Shikamaru encouraged. What's the point anymore? "Is it hard to see the woman who dumped you?" He added. What does he know about love, what we went through, or how I was too late to realize what was there all along? "So, Naruto's strong as a shinobi but he can't handle a broken heart. Now I know your weakness," Sai summarized. Yup, I, the hero of the Fourth Shinobi War, couldn't save a girl, the literal girl of my dreams at that. I've had my body broken many times and my arm was taken, but at least I could rely on a hospital to fix me up. Hospitals can't heal invisible pain.

* * *

Hyuuga, Hinata

"Hamura must be happy that you personally want to pay homage," Toneri noted. We came through his temple entrance with Toneri, the matron puppet, and puppet girls lighting the way. "The Tenseigan is inside here," I observed. It's terrifying that it could sweep an entire army in minutes. We arrived at the wall that had the main clan's symbol up top. "This is-" I said. "The Tenseigan," Toneri introduced. "Then this is the Otsutsuki's Treasure that's moving the moon?" I asked. "Hinata-sama, only those in exalted positions are allowed to see the real Tenseigan. This is a temple where others of lower rank come to pray," the matron corrected. "I see," I noted. We turned out and left the island on a platform. "I shall show you the real Tenseigan after we are married," Toneri promised. As if I'd want to get married to someone who took out my sister's eyes. But one thing does remain clear- the Tenseigan is there. Now, I just have to figure out how to get there again. Oh, a cracked moon came into view. So that's where the branch clan got their symbol from, there really is a crescent moon overlapping a core here. I scanned it and focused on the core, completely black through the Byakugan. "My field of vision is distorted only at that spot. I get it now."

I was knitting the scarf while Toneri and I were having tea together. He groaned, covering his face with his hand. "I'm going to my room to rest. I'm looking forward to the finished scarf," he announced as he stood up and left. Now is my chance!

I opened the window and jumped down the steeples. The wind ran through me while I ran on the rooftops. I can do this, for Hanabi! I didn't see any puppets outside, thank goodness he doesn't mind security as much around here. I found the ledge and jumped across the floating craters to reach the temple.

* * *

Uzumaki, Naruto

Morning came and Shikamaru came to me again. "How long are you going to be like that? You gave up on a woman, so why not give up on being a Hokage, too?" he questioned. That's not the same thing! "Yeah, give it up. Give up on the woman as well as becoming Hokage," he snarked. "What, Shikamaru?" I stood up and grabbed him by the collar. "Are you picking a fight?" I yelled. He replied, "I don't care what happens between you and Hinata, but you're a shinobi!" What? I let go of him. "Come with me," he turned around. He's right, regardless of what happens, I still am a ninja and we have a mission to accomplish. "Sakura-chan!" Shikamaru took me to Sakura-chan lying weakly on a blanket. "It's the result of infusing every ounce of her chakra into you so that she could prevent you from dying," he explained. Oh goodness, she's worse off than I am. "Sakura-chan!" I ran to her. "Naruto," she smiled. "Sakura-chan, I'm so sorry," I apologized. I overheard Sai asking Shikamaru, "Are you going to depend on Sakura to heal not only his body but his heart as well?" "Can you do it?" Shikamaru answered." "You have a point," Sai remarked and they left us.

I finally told Sakura-chan everything: the attempted kidnapping, the abandoned villages, and the night Hinata left me. "I see. I never thought you'd confess your love first. Remember long ago when you said you loved me?" She reminisced. That was also a bad time, back when we were trying to find Sasuke. "But, wasn't that because I love Sasuke-kun? You didn't want to lose to him. It's real this time, isn't it? Hinata is a great person, she's almost too good for you." "But it's over. Hinata went over to Toneri," I lamented. "You're so stupid. It's obvious she had a reason she couldn't reveal. When a girl truly falls in love, her feelings don't change that easily. They can't change. I understand how she feels very well," she pointed out. I see, so Hinata went to Toneri to get Hanabi. Was she also doing this to save me? If so, what would she be saving me from?

* * *

Hyuuga, Hinata- I'm inside the temple now. I went through the entrance by placing my hand on the wall and an entrance appeared. A tunnel of glowing, red spheres circled around me and I came to an enormous space. I jumped through gold beams until I came to the sun-like ball, seeing energy pulsing from the center. "This is the Tenseigan." If I am the Byakugan Princess like Otsutsuki, Hamura proclaims, only I can destroy it. "I'll stop the moon."

I turned around to see ninja puppets from behind. I fought them, but then I was lifted in the air, being pulled back by no other than Toneri by the wrist. "What's going on?" He inquired. "You're wrong, Hamura's soul entrusted me with the Celestial Decree. You have distorted Hamura's teachings. He never wished for the destruction of the Earth, the Sage of Six Path's world," I told him. "You've betrayed me," he stated. He let go but used his chakra to lift my hands in the air as we and two guard puppets walked through the tunnel. "Please hear me out. Hamura is-" "Silence, they're lies. I don't believe it," he denied.

We went back to the castle into my room. "There is only one Celestial Degree Hamura made. That is to end the Sage of Six Paths' world," Toneri continued. He saw my scarf on the stand. "How dare you. So, you were knitting this for him, not me?" he retaliated and the scarf exploded on his hand. No, not this scarf! A sizeable chunk fell to the ground and Toneri stomped on it. Then he looked at me and activated a truth ball. "I'm going to make it so you'll never betray me again!" he shouted and shoved it at my heart.

My body jolted, then stopped. I couldn't move anymore like I'd become his toy puppet. Oh goodness, I've failed. I've failed Hanabi, Naruto-kun, and this mission. What's going to happen to me now? We walked out of my room towards the living room and Toneri roared to the other puppets that we were going to rush the wedding. More puppets brought a glass casket containing a shallow bed for me to lie on, then they closed it and placed me above the fireplace. Afterwards, they left to get tea for Toneri and he sat down in front of the fireplace, sipping some below me. Oh gosh, I'm in between other puppets arranged like this all over the room. Am I another trophy of his, just like them? Is he forcing me to marry him like this? I was trying to be useful, but I'm still weak and pathetic. A tear, as cold as my fear, ran down my cheek. "Naruto-kun."


End file.
